Reviewed by Margaret Thompson
By now, anyone who has read my reviews knows that I was raised under a rock, sheltered from things like classic literature and Disney movies. So it should be no surprise that until now, my knowledge of Alice in Wonderland was limited to pop culture references and vague knowledge of terms like Mad Hatter, un-birthday, and the rabbit hole. And I could have sworn “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” was a song from Mary Poppins or Singing in the Rain…no??
Thankfully, CharacterWorks, in classic CharacterWorks form, made it easy for me and my kids to love the quirky characters, the costumes, the colorful scenery, and the music, even if the plot is a little, shall we say, odd. But I now know there is a whole genre dedicated to literary nonsense – who knew?! Oh, you did? Yes, of course, you did.
By intermission, I was more than a little confused, and it must have been written all over my face, because thankfully, Mad Hatter’s mother, also known as concession stand worker number three, explained the gist of the story to me. Alice, a bit of a non-conformist if you will, had fallen into the rabbit hole after a spat with her sister about following the rules, working hard, and all of those other things that Alice could have cared less about. Fourteen- year-old Rachel Nentwich, portrayed Alice magnificently, as did Charlotte George as Small Alice and Jessica Dymon as Tall Alice (three Alices did NOT help clear up my confusion!).
Part two featured the famous un-birthday party, complete with Mad Hatter, expertly played by 17-year-old Noah Basara, and the Queen of Hearts, played by 15-year-old Hannah Thomas, who really stole the show. Post-show, managing director Donna Amadee flagged me down to fill in a few more blanks for me. Good thing, too, since I really was wondering if perhaps the Mad Hatter was drunk (or worse!). That’s good acting, oh Mad One!
As usual, the entire ensemble in this CharacterWorks production, seventy-plus strong, knocked it out of the park, with not a slip-up to be found by this observer, even on opening night. I can’t imagine how many tireless hours of rehearsal it takes to pull that off. Kudos, kids, and CW team!
Alice in Wonderland plays February 14 through 16 at Tomahawk Creek Middle School Theatre. For details, visit Shows, Productions, Tickets | CharacterWorks
